Propeller-gear.



No. 864,942. PATENTED SEPT. a, 1907.

w. WITT.

PROPELLER GEAR. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 2911907.

WH'NESSES: \WR; MMWMM M Z6 1:4: NORRIS Psrsas :0, wAsnmaro/v. u c.

WILLIAM WITT, OF PORT CLINTON, OHIO.

PROPELLER-GEAR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 3, 1907.

Application filed Malfih 29,1907. Serial No. 365,245.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM WrrT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Port Clinton, in the county of Ottawa and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Propeller-Gears; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it ZLPPQTtitlJlS to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

in launches, tenders, and other small power-lmats, and especially in boats designed to be used in shallow water, it is desirable that the propeller be made of small diameter in order to avoid rocks, vegetation and other obstructions beneath the boat. In reducing the diameter of the .n'opellcr it becomes necessary to give it a corrcspi ndingly higher rate of revolution to obtain sufficient speed for the boat. It is diflicult to obtain this high propellers iwed with a single cylinder internal combustion engine of practicable weight and power.

My invention relates to and its object is to furnish means for overcoming the difficulties here indicated, and, more particularly, to provide a gear for an engine and a 'iropeller-shaft which shall impart a high speed to the propeller, the gear arrangement being cheap, simple, strong, and effective, with a minimum number of parts.

My invention is also designed to furnish a construction by means of which the propeller-shaft may be placed lower in the boat and more nearly parallel with the keel than is practicable in ordinary construction.

My invention is also designed to furnish a simple anti-friction thrust-bearing whichshali take the endprcssure of the propeller-shaft either forward or toward the stern.

fattain these objects by means of the construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and shown, and illustrated in the single figure of the accompanying drawing which is a side-elevation of my gear, partly in section and in which,-

l is an explosion-engine of the usual or any preferred type.

2 is the shaft of the engine,in this case a stub-shaft,- journaled in bearings 3 and 4.

The base 5 of the engine rests upon and is secured to the bottom of the boat.

Upon the rearwardly projecting end of the stub-shaft 2 is fixed a gear-wheel 6 which engages a pinion '7 secured upon the propeller-shaft 8. The shafts 2 and 8 lie in the same vertical plane.

Upon the body of the engine is cast a boss 9 which is recessed to receive a thrust-block 10. This block is grooved circumferentially to correspond with a like groove in the adjoining face of the hub of the pinion 7. In these coincident grooves are anti-friction balls 1]. which receive the forward thrust of the propeller-shaft.

12 is an upright bracket cast integral with the base of the engine, the top of the bracket being provided with a journal-box 13 serving as a lateral bearing and support for the propeller-shaft.

Bet veen the bracket and the rear face of the hub of the pinion 7 is interposed a block or sleeve 14L The opposed faces of the hub of the pinion and the block or sleeve 14 are correspondingly concentrically grooved to form a ball-race for anti-friction balls 15.

The engine being in motion, the shaft 8 is caused to revolve rapidly through gear 6 and pinion 7 secured to the propeller-shaft. When the boat is moving forward the thrust of the shaft is received on the ball-bearings 1].. When the engine or the propeller is reversed, the end-pressure of the propeller-shaft is taken by the ballbearings 15.

it will be seen that by using a slow speed engine, a higher speed is, by my arrangement, developed and transmitted to the propeller-shaft; the propeller-shaft is located close to the bottom of the boat and nearly parallel with the keel, and that with a minimum number of parts the gears are mounted in operative relation with a minimum of friction.

Having described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is,-

1. In a device of the described character, an engine, a stub-shaft for the engine. a gear-wheel on the shaft, a propeller-shaft, a pinion on the pl'fiplillttlfililll lj engaged with the gear-wheel, a bracket upon the base of the engine, a bearing for the propeller-shafton said bracket, a thrustbearing upon the body of the engine for the forward end oi? the propeller-shaft, said pinion being secured to the propeller-slmfl; bclavccn said two bearing 2. In a device of the described chaiarter, an engine having integral with its body a base and a bracket. :1 propellershal't having its bearings upon the bracket, :1 ballbearing upon the body of the engine, a pinion fixed to the propellershaft between id two bearings, an engine-shaft, and a gear-wheel upon said engine-shaft engaged with said pinion.

If, In a device of the described character, an engine shaft, a gear-wheel on the shaft, a propellenshaft. a pinion on the propeller-shaft in engagement with the gear-wheel. a bracket upon which the propeller-shaft is journaled, a thrust-block interposed between the body of the engine and the forward :lface oi the hub of the pinion, a thrust-block interposed between the bracket and the rear face of The hub of the pinion, and baltbearings between said thrust-blocks and the hub of the pinion.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

Witnesses:

BESSIE MULnnImN, RUEL H. Cnawronn. 

